Important Update: 92Y remains open
Shirley Bassat, studied with Vickie Sheer, Barbara Fallis, Dick Andros and Richard Thomas; performed with U.S. Terpsichore; faculty member, New York School of Ballet, Usdan, Bronx House School of Music and Ballet Academy East.
Jeanne Bresciani, BA, Skidmore College; MA, history of art, William's College, MA and PhD in dance, NYU; worldwide acclaim as solo performer, choreographer, lecturer, educator and creator of fe ...
Jeanne Bresciani, BA, Skidmore College; MA, history of art, William's College, MA and PhD in dance, NYU; worldwide acclaim as solo performer, choreographer, lecturer, educator and creator of festivals; artistic director of the Isadora Duncan International Institute; performed as soloist at Lincoln Center, before the United Nations General Assembly, at the National Museum at Saratoga Springs, before the Olympic ceremonies in 1988, and at the National Museum in the Arts.
Mari Di Lena began her professional career while on scholarship at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, studying with Margaret Craske and Alfredo Corvino. As a child she was a member of the Met ...
Mari Di Lena began her professional career while on scholarship at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, studying with Margaret Craske and Alfredo Corvino. As a child she was a member of the Met's Children's Chorus and danced leading roles in the children ballets produced by The Little Orchestra Society. At 17 she became principal dancer with the future Maryland Ballet Company. She also danced with Manhattan Festival, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and was a principal with Ballet Guatemala and the Dortmunder Ballet. After a long career as a dramatic and classical ballet dancer she joined Pina Bausch’s Wuppertal Tanztheater where she was also responsible for giving ballet classes. After leaving the company she opened her own ballet school which she directed for 20 years. She taught extensively at the Folkwang Hochschule and taught company ballet classes for the Daniel Goldin Dance Theater in Muenster for many years. Keeping close contact with the Bausch company, she was thrilled when her former teacher and mentor Alfredo Corvino became their Ballet Master and took company class whenever he was in town. Since returning to the States in 2008 she has given Master Classes at different Universities and schools in the New York area, choreographed for the Harkness Dance Center, gave class often for the Jose Limon Company, gave Bausch workshops at Sarah Lawrence, Juilliard and 92Y, was on the panel at Barnard/Columbia 2013 discussing the different Rites of Spring and contributed to the educational film Understanding Pina, by Kathryn Sullivan. In 2013 she joined two other former members of the Wuppertal Tanz Theater to reconstruct Wind von West, a Bausch piece that hadn't been danced since 1979. It was through her initiative that it became an international undertaking between Juilliard and the Folkwang Tanz Studio and premiered at the Pina Bausch 40 Year Jubilaum Festival in Germany and the New Dances Concert at Juilliard this past December. Mari is currently on the faculty of 92Y Harkness Dance Center and the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance in Connecticut.
Elizabeth Douglas received her Masters in Dance Education from NYU; has taught in both private institutions and Arts in Education programs; in addition to her work in education Elizabeth continues ...
Elizabeth Douglas received her Masters in Dance Education from NYU; has taught in both private institutions and Arts in Education programs; in addition to her work in education Elizabeth continues to develop her own choreography.
Ballet (Intermediate) / Ages 10+
Ballet (Advanced) / Ages 14+
Pre-Pointe/Strengthening / Ages 9+
Pointe (Beginner/Intermediate) / Ages 12+
Ballet / Ages 7-9
Ballet / Ages 10-12
Ballet / Ages 4-6
Sameena Mitta is the founder and artistic director of MeenMoves, as well as of the government-funded education and outreach program, MadHops. A graduate of the professional ballet training program ...
Sameena Mitta is the founder and artistic director of MeenMoves, as well as of the government-funded education and outreach program, MadHops. A graduate of the professional ballet training program of The School of Dance in Ottawa, Mitta was a recipient of the Celia Franca Scholarship, and was awarded with distinction the Associate Diploma of the Cecchetti Society. She has spent over 15 years teaching and working as a freelance modern dancer, performing for numerous choreographers and teaching at schools throughout North America and abroad. Mitta has performed with The White Oak Dance Project in their New York Season of Past Forward, in the Czech Republic with Dagmar Spain and in New York with The Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble, Kathryn Alter and Dancers, Aviva Geismar, Luis Tentindo and The Juilliard Opera Company, among many others. In 2008 she received a MA in Dance Creation at UQAM focusing on Movement Intervention for survivors of domestic violence. Mitta, with her dance-theatre company, MeenMoves, has presented works in North America, India, Japan and Europe. Esteemed festivals have selected and produced Mitta’s pieces, including the evening-length work Growing Pains, co-presented by ODD in Ottawa (2013). She has shown work at Ailey APAP2018 (NYC, 2018) and at BAM Fisher (NYC, 2018) as well as Frigid Festival (NYC, 2014), Westfest Dance Festival (NYC, 2015), 60x60 (NYC, 2015), BAX’s Winter Festival (NYC, 2016) and Dance On The Lawn (NJ, 2018). She presented her evening-length work, alternative (f)Acts, at the Martha Graham Theater (NYC, 2017). In 2015, Mitta was invited to create work through a residency at the Lake Studios in Berlin, Germany and has produced work for the Choreographer’s Collective in NYC. She has received funding from the Canadian government for her outreach programming and has sat on juries in Canada and the USA for several organizations offering funding and scholarships. She is the recipient of the choreographic fellowship at NJPAC (2018-2020) and is on faculty at the Limón Institute, Ballet Tech and the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center. Mitta’s interests include arts activism and diversity in dance.
Modern Dance (Advanced) / Ages 13+
Modern (Intermediate) / Ages 10+
Modern Dance / Ages 7-10
Marilyn Baker has worked in modern dance, film and theater. She has studied with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Finis Jhung and Mary Anthony. Marilyn has taught children and adults for 35 years. ...
Marilyn Baker has worked in modern dance, film and theater. She has studied with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Finis Jhung and Mary Anthony. Marilyn has taught children and adults for 35 years. She has been on the faculties of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, New Jersey Center for Modern Dance Education, North Carolina School of the Arts and taught at the University of Utah, Old Dominion University, as well as in the Harkness Center at 92Y. She has conducted teacher training workshops for the American Dance Guild, NYC Headstart Program and 92Y. She designed and implemented an early childhood curriculum in dance for young children. For the last 25 years she has had a personal training and small group fitness practice. Marilyn holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Born and raised New Yorker, Myrna is a dancer and swing dance events producer for the NY Metropolitan area. Since 2005 she has been producing swing dance events at 92nd Street Y where she teaches t ...
Born and raised New Yorker, Myrna is a dancer and swing dance events producer for the NY Metropolitan area. Since 2005 she has been producing swing dance events at 92nd Street Y where she teaches the swing lesson before the night of dancing begins and performed dances in swing, hustle, tap and salsa. Other dances she is trained in include theatre, jazz as well as various ballroom genres. Myrna performed and taught at various special events in NYC. Among her dance mentors was legendary swing dance master Frankie Manning who was among the pioneers of the Lindy Hop and also master tap instructor Chuck Kelley who is internationally acclaimed as the teacher’s teacher. For more information about her events or to contact Myrna please visit her website: www.SwingDanceSwing.com
Solo Hustle & Disco Dance Fun!
Swing and Lindy Hop (Absolute Beginner)
Solo Swing Lindy Hop & Rock N' Roll (Open Level)
Martha Eddy completed her doctoral studies at Columbia University in 1998 in movement science and education; trained with Irmgrad Bartenieff and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen; has taught in the certification programs of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS); teaches at Columbia Univ ...
Martha Eddy completed her doctoral studies at Columbia University in 1998 in movement science and education; trained with Irmgrad Bartenieff and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen; has taught in the certification programs of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS); teaches at Columbia University; in 2001, was named co-coordinator of the Riverside Church Wellness Center in New York City; research associate of the Kinesiology Department of San Francisco State University.
Roberto Garcia, faculty, Sandra Cameron Dance Center; also trained as a ballet and modern dancer; former member of May O'Donnell Dance Co. and Deborah Carr's Theater Dance Ensemble.
Naomi Goldberg Haas has worked in concert dance, theatre, opera and film. Highlights include collaborations with The Klezmatics, composer Michael Nyman, playwright Tony Kushner, director Brian Kuli ...
Naomi Goldberg Haas has worked in concert dance, theatre, opera and film. Highlights include collaborations with The Klezmatics, composer Michael Nyman, playwright Tony Kushner, director Brian Kulick and Disney animation. Her work with the Silesian Dance Theater and persons with disabilities was presented in 2010 at the International Contemporary Dance Festival in Poland and in 2011 at Chutzpah Festival in Vancouver, B.C. She formerly danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet and holds an MFA from Tisch Dance at NYU. She has taught dance at Cal State, Long Beach and Loyola Marymount University and currently teaches at NYU, the Harkness Dance Center at 92Y and in her intergenerational company Dances For A Variable Population (DVP's) programs at senior centers in NYC. Recent projects include Golem with the Czech American Marionette Theater for La Mama's 50th season and Times Square ROUNDUP with the Times Square Alliance. Friends of the High Line awarded its first dance commission to DVP for “Autumn Crossing,” which joined the company with neighborhood residents and was the first dance performance on the High Line. In 2011, DVP was selected by the NYC Arts Alliance as one of "Seven Emerging Voices of 2011."
Jill Kenney is a New York-based dancer, teacher and choreographer. She has been working as Germaine Salsberg’s tap assistant at Broadway Dance Center since 2008. In addition to teaching at 92 ...
Jill Kenney is a New York-based dancer, teacher and choreographer. She has been working as Germaine Salsberg’s tap assistant at Broadway Dance Center since 2008. In addition to teaching at 92Y, Jill is on faculty at NYU Steinhardt and has guest taught at Steps on Broadway. She is also the director of the early childhood program at the Dream Center Dance Academy on Long Island.
With Salsberg’s tap company, Les Femmes Plus, Jill has performed at Symphony Space, Lincoln Center, The Friars Club, Brooklyn College and Boston’s Regent Theatre. She has appeared in numerous festivals including the Dumbo Dance Festival, Tap City, Stam-Pede and the Tap Extravaganza. For numerous years, she has been a team leader for ATDF’s Tap it Out — an outdoor concert directed by Tony Waag and Lynn Schwab. Other performance highlights include the Highline Ballroom, LG Electronics, Disney Cruise Lines and the tour of Dancin’ on Common Ground (choreography by Jared Grimes). She has also performed with the Andrea Torres Dance Company and Carlos Donan’s Folktap.
Originally from Rhode Island, Jill grew up training in various forms of dance under the direction of Lisa Mailloux and also at the Newport Academy of Ballet. She has studied at the 92Y Dance Education Laboratory and holds a B.A. in Dance Performance and Education from SUNY Empire State College, as well as an A.A. in Dance from Dean College.
Tap (Open Level)
Tap Ensemble
Gloria McLean was a leading member of the Erick Hawkins Dance Co. from 1982-1993. She is the choreographer/director of LIFEDANCE/GLoria McLean & Dancers. She has been a professor of dance at UW ...
Gloria McLean was a leading member of the Erick Hawkins Dance Co. from 1982-1993. She is the choreographer/director of LIFEDANCE/GLoria McLean & Dancers. She has been a professor of dance at UW/Madison, George Washington U and Keimyung University. She teaches at 92Y and privately in NYC and Andes, NY, and is the President of the American Dance Guild.
Modern Dance (Open Level)
Marlon "International" Mills, one of New York's most well-known dance personalities in the Salsa dance community, was born in NY to parents from the Caribbean and was educated in NY & ...
Marlon "International" Mills, one of New York's most well-known dance personalities in the Salsa dance community, was born in NY to parents from the Caribbean and was educated in NY & Spain. He found his love of Salsa in 2001, after having been taken to a class by a co-worker and has not looked back since. He has trained with some of the best in the business, including Maria and Eddie Torres and has been teaching Salsa for more than 14 years. Marlon has performed Salsa for films, television, festivals, clients such as Marriott Group and American Express, and on stage for artists such as Jose Alberto El Canario, Hector Tricoche and El Gran Combo. He has also made appearances on Sesame Street as a performer and recently at Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing as an instructor and performer. Marlon has taught at prestigious universities such as NYU, Columbia Business School and Hofstra University. He currently teaches at LIU and at several dance studios. Marlon has since joined the 92Y Staff and is currently teaching all levels of Salsa. Marlon hosts weekly social dance events that feature some of the top Latin bands and artists from the NY area. Marlon is also a Teaching Artist for the Dancing Classrooms program, teaching ballroom dance to kids throughout NYC public schools. He is known for his warm smile, amazing lead and excellent teaching abilities. Through clear teaching and strong fundamentals, he takes people from having two left feet to dancing up a storm while having fun on the dance floor in a relatively short amount time. His goals are to continue teaching, dancing, traveling the world and positively impacting the lives of others. His motto — Changing lives, one dance at a time!
Salsa (Open Level)
Jessica Nicoll, graduate, Sarah Lawrence College; 92Y faculty since 1985; Hunter College dance faculty since 2010; performed with Kei Takei, Phyllis Lamhut, Claire Porter and others; performer/chor ...
Jessica Nicoll, graduate, Sarah Lawrence College; 92Y faculty since 1985; Hunter College dance faculty since 2010; performed with Kei Takei, Phyllis Lamhut, Claire Porter and others; performer/choreographer with Nicoll+Oreck Dance Theater; awards: 2007 and 2008 Boulder International Fringe Festival awards, 1999 Off-Off Broadway Reviews (OOBR) Award (choreography); 2007 BAX10 Award, 2004 Linda LeRoy Janklow Award (teaching artistry); presents nationally and internationally at arts education conferences; 92Y choreography students were the subjects of a chapter she co-authored with her partner Barry Oreck, in Vygotsky and Creativity (Peter Lang Press, 2010).
Claudia Rahardjanoto was born and raised in Berlin, Germany to Chinese-Indonesian parents, and has performed and taught tap dance all over the world for over 15 years now to all ages from 6 years o ...
Claudia Rahardjanoto was born and raised in Berlin, Germany to Chinese-Indonesian parents, and has performed and taught tap dance all over the world for over 15 years now to all ages from 6 years old to 83 years old. She has extensively studied tap dance with Sam Weber, Andreas Dänel, Sven Göttlicher and Pascal Hulin. After having danced in numerous tap dance-shows all over Europe and having been on tour with several touring productions around Europe as well as the United States (Magic Of The Dance, Dancing Feet, Dancing On Common Ground), Claudia moved to New York City in 2003 to continue her dance education and pursue a career in dance in the US.
Her performance highlights include tap dancing in Michelle Dorrance’s The Blues Project at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, on "The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon" with Andrew Nemr's CPD PLUS, the world-famous Apollo Theater alongside the fabulous Miss Mable Lee, New York City’s Cotton Club with the Cotton Club Sophisticated Ladies and Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, MTV's "TRL" as part of a Happy Feet-segment with Robin Williams and Elijah Wood and singing and dancing at Joe’s Pub and the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Claudia has also had the opportunity to dance with Dianne 'Lady Di' Walker, Chloe Arnold, Derick Grant, Max Pollak’s RUMBATAP, Jane Goldberg, Barbara Duffy & Company, Roxane Butterfly's WORLDBEATS, Jared Grimes' T.A.D.A.H. and many others. In 2011, Claudia has been on the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine and has been featured as one of Dance Magazine's "25 To Watch" in 2010. Currently, she is on faculty at Steps On Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center and the American Tap Dance Foundation in New York City.
Claudia has been extremely blessed and fortunate to have met and spend valuable time (on or off stage) with tap masters like the late Dr. Jimmy Slyde, Dr. Bunny Briggs, the late Dr.Henry LeTang, the late Dr. Buster Brown, the late Dr. Harold Cromer, Mable Lee, Dianne Walker, Ted Levy, Savion Glover among others and wants to thank them for all that they have shared. She is looking forward to keep sharing her love for music and the art of tap dancing with everyone through her teaching and performing.
Tap Dance for Life
Cynthia Reynolds performed with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company from1976 to 1993. Reynolds teaches dance at 92Y, and the Alexander Technique at The New School, at NYU, and privately.
JoDe Romano "La Chispa" was a guest Teaching artist & graduate of the High School for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas were she was featured in the Houston Grand Opera Carmen ...
JoDe Romano "La Chispa" was a guest Teaching artist & graduate of the High School for the Performing Arts in Houston, Texas were she was featured in the Houston Grand Opera Carmen. She also performed in the Franco Zeffirelli original production of Carmen, starring Placido Domingo and Maria Benitez at the Metropolitan Opera, attended by president Clinton, which was broadcast for PBS Live From Lincoln Center and toured Japan with the Three Tenors. For over 20 years, Ms. Romano lived, studied and performed Spanish dance in Spain and Japan, was soloist and choreographer for the José Greco Dance Company at the Joyce Theater, the Town Hall New York City, and toured the US and Spain. She was also a dancer in The Charo Show in Las Vegas with Jerry Lewis and others, and taught a castanet workout on the Dr. Oz Show. JoDe Romano choreographed the Broadway Workshop production of Rita Hayworth-Hollywood Goddess, numerous Zarzuelas, and the mixed media dramatic presentation, Picasso's Guernica, at The Thalia Theater in New York. Ms. Romano has taught at Alvin Ailey, Ballet Hispanico, NYC public schools and the summer intensives at Joffery Ballet NYC.
Currently, Ms. Romano conducts Spanish dance and castanet classes at the 92Y Harkness Dance Center and is a graduate of the 92Y Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) program. She has been a guest teacher at Hunter College and co-developed and taught a DEL workshop at 92Y. Ms. Romano also taught a master class and workshop at NYU for NYSDEA and at Fall for Dance at NY City Center. She teaches at Steps on Broadway and other locations throughout the NY metropolitan area. She has completed a series of instructional DVDs on castanet and flamenco movement techniques, and has produced and played castanets on her Spanish Classical Piano and Castanets CD. www.FlamencoRomano.com
Flamenco (Open Level)
Susan Rosenbaum, a New York native, received her early training at the New Dance Group Studio and at Harkness House in NYC. She studied with David Howard, Finis Jhung, Kira Guzikova, Wilhelm Burman ...
Susan Rosenbaum, a New York native, received her early training at the New Dance Group Studio and at Harkness House in NYC. She studied with David Howard, Finis Jhung, Kira Guzikova, Wilhelm Burmann and Sydelle Gomberg. She earned her BFA in dance from the University of Utah, her MA in Early Childhood Education from Adelphi University and is also Montessori certified. She performed with Ballet West, Harkness Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and NYC Character and Ballet Company. In addition to teaching both children and adult levels at the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, Susan has also taught at the Peninsula Hotel Fitness Center and in the “Take a Chance” series at the JCC Manhattan. Susan’s teaching credits also include Central Park Dance in Scarsdale, NY, Steps on Broadway, Rutgers University, Maryland Ballet, Chautauqua Institution and Tanzwerkstatt, Bonn, Germany.
Ballet for Life
Ballet (Intermediate)
Ballet (Beginner)
Ballet (Absolute Beginner)
Ballet (Advanced Beginner)
Tamii Sakurai is a tap dancer based in New York City. She is an Artist in Residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF). Her close affiliation with ATDF started as a founding member, then t ...
Tamii Sakurai is a tap dancer based in New York City. She is an Artist in Residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF). Her close affiliation with ATDF started as a founding member, then the dance captain, and now one of the rehearsal director of Tap City Youth Ensemble, a performing youth tap ensemble of ATDF. Tamii has also had the privilege of working with numerous leading tap companies such as Brenda Bufalino’s “New” American Tap Dance Orchestra, Michelle Dorrance’s Dorrance Dance, and Caleb Teicher’s Caleb Teicher and Company. She studied Mathematics and Dance at Hunter College, where she has developed her style of teaching tap dance incorporating number and visuals. In 2016, she has made her debut on Off Broadway on STOMP. She has concluded her run on STOMP the following year, though she may be seen periodically performing as an alumni. For Tamii’s new works and teaching/performing schedule, please visit tamiisakurai.com.
Body Percussion (Open Level)
John-Mario Sevilla (92Y Harkness Director of Professional Development and Performance; MA, Teachers College; MFA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) hails from Ka’ehu, Maui. Formerly the Dire ...
John-Mario Sevilla (92Y Harkness Director of Professional Development and Performance; MA, Teachers College; MFA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) hails from Ka’ehu, Maui. Formerly the Director of Harkness Dance Center, Manager of School Programs and Director of Education at New York City Ballet, he has been a teacher both here and abroad to dancers of all ages and levels. From 1988 to 1996, John-Mario was a performer, choreographic collaborator, rehearsal director and teacher for Pilobolus, for which he toured internationally and appeared on several national telecasts. He has also worked with choreographers Rebecca Stenn, Lisa Giobbi, Nikolais and Louis, Shapiro and Smith, Janis Brenner, Anna Sokolow and Bill Cratty, juggler Michael Moschen, film animator Laura Margulies, drag performing artists Sherry Vine, poet John Unterecker and Navajo sandpainter and healer Walking Thunder. Mr. Sevilla’s choreography has appeared in New York City at Movement Research/Judson Church, LaMama, Dance Theater Workshop, St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bouwerie, Columbia University, ABC No Rio, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, The Asia Society, Riverside Church and Bronx Academy of Art and Dance. He currently is a student of the hula with kumu hula Hōkūlani Holt of Pā‘ū O Hi‘iaka on the island of Maui. He has also studied with kumu hula June Ka’ililani Tanoue.
Kate Stephan danced professionally as a soloist for over ten years in ballet companies including The Cincinnati Ballet, The Israel Ballet in Tel-Aviv and the Florida Ballet. She also performed on B ...
Kate Stephan danced professionally as a soloist for over ten years in ballet companies including The Cincinnati Ballet, The Israel Ballet in Tel-Aviv and the Florida Ballet. She also performed on Broadway and in the Los Angeles cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera in the principal role of "Meg" and in the ballet chorus. She is a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor, a certified Integral Yoga pre-natal teacher and a certified OM Yoga teacher. She is also an ACE certified personal trainer. In 2007, Ms. Stephan earned a Masters’ Degree in Dance Education at New York University. Ms. Stephan was the Manager of the New York City Ballet Workout, a ballet-based fitness class, for three years. As Manager for the New York City Ballet Workout, she traveled world-wide to train and certify all instructors while also teaching the Workout at New York Sports Clubs. She was also the Associate Producer and Fitness Director for NYCB Workout 2, the second video/DVD of the Workout exercise program. Ms. Stephan's teaching credits include, 92nd Street Y, Steps on Broadway, Lucy Moses School, Brown University, Providence Ballet, The Spence School, New York Sports Club and New Jersey Ballet School.
Jody Gottfried Arnhold, MA, CMA, Founder of Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at 92Y, is a luminary in dance education and an advocate for dance. She created DEL in response to the need for a practi ...
Jody Gottfried Arnhold, MA, CMA, Founder of Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at 92Y, is a luminary in dance education and an advocate for dance. She created DEL in response to the need for a practical and focused dance pedagogy program. Through DEL, Jody aims to inspire and prepare teachers to work with children and teens. She continues these efforts as Executive Producer of the NY Emmy nominated documentary, PS DANCE!: Dance Education in Public Schools, to raise awareness and advocate for her mission, Dance for Every Child.
Teaching dance in NYC public schools for more than 25 years, has provided Jody with the experiences that continue to guide her dance education efforts including supporting the dance program at the New York City Department of Education, creating the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program at Hunter College, and serving as the visionary benefactor behind the Doctorate in Dance Education at Teachers College Columbia University. Jody supports and champions many NYC dance companies including Ballet Hispanico where she is Honorary Chair. She also supports and mentors countless dance teachers many of whom now lead the field.
Jody serves on the Advisory Committee for Arts Education at New York City Department of Education and was Co-Chair of the Committee that created the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance K-12. She is on the Board at 92Y, Hunter College, Harkness Foundation for Dance, and on the Advisory Committee of Dance/NYC. She has received National Dance Education Organization’s Visionary Award, Education Update’s Distinguished Leader in Education Award, and Teachers College Distinguished Alumni Award. Jody has received the Floria V. Lasky Award, Dance Films Association’s Dance in Focus Award, and the New York State Dance Education Association Outstanding Leadership Award. She has been honored by Lincoln Center Education, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Jose Limon Dance Foundation, Dancewave, and NYC Arts in Education Roundtable for her contributions to dance and dance education.
Jody holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, an MA in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and is a Certified Movement Analyst (CMA).
DEL was recently named Outstanding Program by the National Dance Education Organization.
DEL FUNdamentals: Arnhold Summer Fellows
DEL FUNdamentals
Ann Biddle M.A., Dance Education, Columbia University, B.A., English Literature, Kenyon College and Fulbright Scholar. Ms. Biddle has been a dance educator, staff developer, curriculum consultant, ...
Ann Biddle M.A., Dance Education, Columbia University, B.A., English Literature, Kenyon College and Fulbright Scholar. Ms. Biddle has been a dance educator, staff developer, curriculum consultant, writer and choreographer for the past 30 years. She is the Founding Faculty of the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at the 92nd St Y with Jody Arnhold (1994 to present) and is the Director of DEL at Jacob’s Pillow (2017 – present). Ms. Biddle has designed and taught numerous courses for DEL including Foundations in Dance Education, DEL Essentials, Planet Dance- Multicultural Dance Education, Dancing in Early Childhood, Dance and Nature, Teaching from Transformation to Inspiration (Tina Curran), Dance and Literacy (Barbara Bashaw), DEL: The Next Generation, the DEL Facilitators Training Program, Dance for Social Change, DEL Essentials OPDI (NDEO) and DELving into Dance History course series at Jacob’s Pillow. Ms. Biddle is currently a Dance Lecturer at UMASS/Amherst Dance Department and has been a guest lecturer at Mt. Hoyoke College and Skidmore College. She is also a Doctoral Candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University in the EdD Program in Dance Education.
As a staff developer and curriculum consultant, Ms. Biddle has partnered with numerous cultural organizations including: Urban Bush Women, Doug Varone, Flamenco Vivo, Jose Limon Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico, New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Movement Research, Jonah Bokaer, HT Chen Dance Center, and Robin Becker Dance Company. Ms. Biddle has taught overseas at the National University in Costa Rica as a Fulbright scholar and at the School of Performing Arts at the University of Ghana. Additionally, she worked closely with the late Alan Lomax as a Choreometrics analyst and is currently an advisor to the Global Jukebox initiative.
Ms. Biddle was an advisor and contributor to the NYC Department of Education’s Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance, PreK-12, and has been a NYCDOE Blueprint professional development facilitator since 2005. She is also a scorer for the Massachusetts Dance MTEL exam. Ms. Biddle was the Director of Arts Programs at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School (PVPA) in South Hadley, MA, and Director of the Dance Department from 2011-2018. She is the Director of the DEL PVPA dance mentorship program featured in the upcoming documentary film, PS Dance! The Next GENeration, Executive Producer, Jody Arnhold, filmmaker, Nel Shelby.
As a writer, Ms. Biddle’s dance teachers’ curricula and training manuals include: The Essence of Cool: West Side Story, New York Export: Opus Jazz the Film (NYC Ballet), Dance Motion USA Doug Varone and Argentinian Brenda Angiel’s Aerial collaboration, Richard Daniel’s Dances for iPhone film series, Wonderdance early childhood curriculum, Dance Making Inspired by Langston Hughes Poetry, Re-imagining D-Man in the Waters, the DEL Facilitators Training Manual and Robin Becker’s Into Sunlight Dance Curriculum. She is a frequent presenter at NDEO conferences and was selected to pilot the Model Cornerstone Assessments as part of NCCA. In addition, Ms. Biddle has published integrated curricular units though the NYC DOE (Dance Units Inspired by Literary Works, 2016 and The Essence of Pearl Primus through Photography and Poetry: The Negro Speaks of Rivers, 2018, Reimagining D-Man in the Water, 2019 and Into Sunlight A Teacher’s Guide, 2019).
Ms. Biddle’s research interests include teacher education, transformational leadership and dance and social justice.
Hip Hop to the Top Part 2: Return to the Cypher
DEL Tracing Footsteps: Honoring Diverse Voices Through Dance History in NYC
Tina Curran is co-founder and director of the Language of Dance Center, USA. She is a doctoral candidate in dance education at New York University focusing on dance literacy and holds an MFA in cho ...
Tina Curran is co-founder and director of the Language of Dance Center, USA. She is a doctoral candidate in dance education at New York University focusing on dance literacy and holds an MFA in choreographic theory and practice from Southern Methodist University and a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School. As a Language of Dance Certification specialist, she conducts certification and teacher education courses, presents at national and international dance conferences, and develops notation teaching resources. She was a contributor to the development of the landmark New York City Department of Education Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts and has been active in its implementation as a professional development educator. An internationally recognized master teacher, she also is active in staging masterworks from Labanotation score.
Frederick Curry is Director of the Rutgers University Graduate Ed.M. Program in Dance Education, part of the Rutgers Graduate School of Education’s Urban Social Justice Teacher Preparation Pr ...
Frederick Curry is Director of the Rutgers University Graduate Ed.M. Program in Dance Education, part of the Rutgers Graduate School of Education’s Urban Social Justice Teacher Preparation Program. As a specialist in Dance Pedagogy and Somatics, Frederick has led workshops and presented at conferences internationally including in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, South Korea, Switzerland, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States. Frederick is Assistant Editor for Dance Education in Practice journal and on faculty at the Dance Education Laboratory at 92nd Street Y. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and is a member of NDEO’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Committee. Frederick previously coordinated the Modular certification program at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York and currently directs the Rutgers Polestar Pilates Teacher Training Program.
Deborah Damast (BFA Dance, SUNY Purchase, MA Dance Education, NYU, DEL Certificate) is Associate Professor and Program Director of Dance Education at NYU Steinhardt where in addition to teaching, s ...
Deborah Damast (BFA Dance, SUNY Purchase, MA Dance Education, NYU, DEL Certificate) is Associate Professor and Program Director of Dance Education at NYU Steinhardt where in addition to teaching, she is Artistic Director of concerts, Kaleidoscope Dancers, and the Uganda study abroad program. Deborah is the Past-President of the New York State Dance Education Association, has served on the boards of NYSDEA, NDEO, Dance Education in Practice Journal, and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and is a member of the NDEO Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access IDEA committee. She is on faculty at LREI/Little Red Schoolhouse, Dance Education Laboratory, and The Yard and has directed programs at Peridance, Steffi Nossen, Harvey School Cavalier Camp, The Yard Kids Do Dance, OBT Exposed, Deborah facilitates Professional Learning for teachers through the NYC Department of Education, 92Y DEL, and PKFCC Pre-K for all and has contributed to the NYC Blueprint for the Arts, Dance and the DEL Early Childhood model. She has presented at numerous conferences and festivals including at NDEO, NYSDEA, ACDFA, CUNY, Kymabogo Music Education in Uganda and her choreography has been shown at over 40 venues in NYC including Ailey Citigroup, Peridance, World Financial Center, Riverside Church, Judson Church, Symphony Space, Cooper Union, 92Y, 14St Y, Skirball Theatre, and internationally in Japan, Uganda, Korea, Italy, and Canada. Deborah has taught for the Education Departments of Oregon Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet and has written curriculum for Peridance, Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, DEL, NYCB, and the NYC DOE. Deborah is a recipient of the 2009 NYU GSU Star Faculty Award, the 2010 NDEO Outstanding Dance Educator Award: Higher Education, and the 2020 Dance Teacher Magazine Award for Higher Education. She participated in Motion Capture studies at NYU, collaborated with Music and Music Technology, and at NYU was a co-recipient of grants for Dance Literacy and Data Literacy, Professional Development, and the 2020 Diversity Innovation grant. Deborah is thrilled to return to facilitate another workshop at DEL with colleagues and collaborators from Uganda and the United States.
Dances from Uganda
DEL Dance for Early Childhood
Diane Duggan, PhD, BC-DMT is a NYS licensed psychologist, board certified dance/movement therapist and dance educator. She began teaching dance in 1972 and has worked as a dance therapist since 197 ...
Diane Duggan, PhD, BC-DMT is a NYS licensed psychologist, board certified dance/movement therapist and dance educator. She began teaching dance in 1972 and has worked as a dance therapist since 1973. She conducted a therapeutic dance program in a New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) special education high school for adolescents with emotional and learning disabilities from May 1992 through August 2013. Her students performed in Lincoln Center, Central Park, South Street Seaport, St. Mark’s Church, NYU’s Frederick Lowe Theater, and the Apollo Theater.
Dr. Duggan began teaching at the graduate level in 1976. She has taught in the Dance Education M.A. program at New York University since 1994 and choreographs for the annual New York University Distinguished Faculty Concert. From 2005-2015 she created and taught a popular course in strategies for working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders in the Special Education M.A. program at New York University. She has taught in the 92nd St. Y Dance Education Laboratory and Dance Therapy programs since 2006. She previously taught for eight years in the Hunter College Dance Therapy M.S. program and in graduate programs at Adelphi University, Long Island University, and Hofstra University.
From 1997 through 2006 Dr. Duggan created and taught professional development in positive behavior support and functional behavior assessment for NYCDOE staff in special education and general education programs throughout New York City, including a three-day intensive workshop for dance educators. She consulted on serious behavior challenges in schools throughout the NYCDOE and developed plans to address them. As a Senior Trainer of Life Space Crisis Intervention, she taught educators how to prevent and manage student crises.
Dr. Duggan is co-author of Dance Education for Diverse Learners: Special Education Supplement to the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance. She has published several articles and book chapters on her work. Her book, Out here by ourselves: The stories of young people whose mothers have AIDS, was published in 2000 by Garland Press.
She served as Communications Chairperson on the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association from 1976 to 1980. She was the co-executive producer for the ADTA’s 1982 film Dance Therapy: The Power of Movement and was the Dance Therapy Program Chairperson for the 1985 Joint Creative Arts Therapy Conference.
Dr. Duggan is currently an Arnhold Mentor for beginning dance educators and is on the editorial board of the National Dance Education Organization journal Dance Education in Practice. She is a member of the Dance/NYC Task Force on Dance and Disability. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Dance Education Association in 2016.
Dance with Children and Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: Therapeutic and Educational Approaches
Catherine Gallant, MFA (choreographer) has been creating work for more than 30 years. Ms. Gallant’s work often explores themes of chance, doubt and the body as a source of comfort and to ...
Catherine Gallant, MFA (choreographer) has been creating work for more than 30 years. Ms. Gallant’s work often explores themes of chance, doubt and the body as a source of comfort and torment. She was the assistant director at 92Y Harkness Dance Center from 1994-96 just as DEL was beginning. She has presented work at 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center, WestFest and most recently at Inwood Hill Park sponsored in part by the Partnerships for Parks. Catherine is also the director of Dances by Isadora which, since 1989, performs, teaches and collaborates with dancers throughout the world, most recently at Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside/Out Series and with French choreographer, Jerome Bel on his new work, Isadora Duncan which Ms. Gallant will perform in June 2020 at the River to River Festival. She began her study of the technique of Isadora Duncan in 1982 with Julia Levien and is currently on the Duncan Archive Committee and contributes regularly to site: duncanarchive.org. Catherine is a full-time NYCDOE dance educator at PS 89 in Manhattan. She and her students were featured in the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, PS DANCE! Catherine is on the faculty of the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL). Ms. Gallant is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory and holds an MFA in Dance from Temple University.
Eli Kababa’s dance career began when he discovered his love of hip-hop culture while earning his black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Martial arts helped hone his skills of mental discipline, focus and ...
Eli Kababa’s dance career began when he discovered his love of hip-hop culture while earning his black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Martial arts helped hone his skills of mental discipline, focus and dexterity. When Eli combined those with passion, devotion, and experimentation, he was on his way. Learning how to break-dance from local crews in Bayonne, New Jersey was his first form.
Studying under Souljerz Crew he explored other techniques like gliding, waving, popping & locking. In a dance battle at his local college Eli was spotted by the dance professor, which launched his studies in Fine Arts. Soon after graduating he was hired by New York City Ballet's Education Department where he worked as a Teaching Artist for 11 years in their Nutcracker, Ballet Bridges and Project Ballet Programs.
During this time Eli co-founded Garden State Dance Project, a successful dance company devoted to cultivating community through various arts and entertainment projects. As the company in residence at the Y in Wayne New Jersey from 2007 to 2011 Eli and his dancers hosted school assemblies and taught in their School of Dance. Along with instruction they would meet weekly to create fusion dance works. Mixing fine arts like ballet and modern dance with street styles to create new works. They hosted annual dance performances and performed at venues such as 42nd Street Port Authority, Grounds for Sculpture, Ceres Art Gallery, Bickford Theatre and the County College of Morris, his alma-mater.
For the past 5 years Eli has been working for the 92nd Street Y. His company performed for students in the Dance Introduction Series. He taught hip-hop for Harkness Dance Center students in their School of Arts and was a student and graduate of DEL, the Dance Education Laboratory. Eventually becoming a DEL Facilitator, he learned ways to share his work within CALL, the Center for Arts Learning and Leadership. For the past three years he has developed, pioneered and is refining the curriculum he co-authored for them titled "Hip-Hop to the Top" which now serves over 1,000 students in New York City public schools annually. Eli loves to share the power hip-hop has to transform the lives of his students, schools, and communities. You can read more about his work in Dance Teacher Magazine and if you want to join his hip-hop community you can find him on the "Eli Kababa YouTube Channel".
Hip-Hop / Ages 7-9
Hip-Hop (Intermediate) / Ages 10+
Hip-Hop (Advanced) / Ages 13+
Hip-Hop / Ages 4-6
Randi Sloan (MA/NYU) is the Director Of Arts at The Dalton School in NYC and has served as Chair Of The Dance Department for the past 32 years. She has been on the faculty at New York Univers ...
Randi Sloan (MA/NYU) is the Director Of Arts at The Dalton School in NYC and has served as Chair Of The Dance Department for the past 32 years. She has been on the faculty at New York University in the Steinhardt School of Dance Education since 2007, an adjunct Professor in the Hunter College Graduate Dance Program since 2015, Randi has been on faculty at DEL (Dance Education Laboratory) at the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center since 1996. She has served as consultant and teacher of dance pedagogy, as well as advisor for the Blueprint for Teaching & Learning in the Arts for the New York City Department of Education. Randi serves on the Exam Committee for NYCDOE under the direction of Ana Nery Fragoso. In 2017-18, Randi directed a project in Senegal where the objective was to create collaborations (in the form of workshops, ateliers, and culminating performances) to reveal the genuine interest of American artists in Senegalese cultural practices, and for each group to train each other in alternative forms of dance making. Randi has taught teacher training workshops for the Office of Arts and Special Projects NDEO, SASI (Center for Arts Education and workshops and consultant in the Public Schools), taught workshops for The Philadelphia Arts Projects, headed by Madeline Cantor at Bryn Mawr College, and presented at NDEO and at the International Dance Council CID. In prior years, she taught in academic venues both nationally and internationally, including Milan, Oakland University, University Of Detroit Mercy, and The Desisto School in Stockbridge, MA. Randi Sloan is a Fellow of The Academy for Teachers in NYC.
An early pioneer of dance therapy while she performed with the Jean Erdman Theatre of Dance, Dr. Berger teaches dance therapy at New York University, where she was the Director of the Program in Da ...
An early pioneer of dance therapy while she performed with the Jean Erdman Theatre of Dance, Dr. Berger teaches dance therapy at New York University, where she was the Director of the Program in Dance Education from 1993–2002. She is also currently the Director of the Dance Therapy Program at the Harkness Dance Center of 92nd Street Y. She has created dance therapy training programs in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Sweden, and has taught dance therapy and the Movement Psychodiagnostic Inventory in France, Germany, Greece, Korea, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovenia and Taiwan. She initiated the International Panel of the ADTA in 1995. In 2009, Dr. Berger received the Charles Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters from Bard College, the ADTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, was inducted into the Dance Library of Israel Hall of Fame in 2005 and she was given the Marian Chace Award for fostering the international growth of dance therapy in 2002. Past President and charter member of the American Dance Therapy Association, Dr. Berger was Director of the Creative Arts Therapies Dept. at Bronx Psychiatric Center 1970–1990, and is a past Chair of the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies. A former co-editor of the American Journal of Dance Therapy and editorial board member of the Journal of Dance Education, she now is on the board of Arts in Psychotherapy and the American Journal of Dance Therapy. An early student of dance therapy pioneers Marian Chace, Irmgaard Bartenieff and Rhoda Winter Russell, she studied non-verbal communication with Albert Scheflen, Martha Davis, Marion North, Judith Kestenberg and Warren Lamb, and studied dance with, among others, Alwin Nikolais and Martha Graham.
Patricia P. Capello, MA, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT is a Senior Dance/Movement Therapist and Acting Team Leader for the Therapeutic Activities Service at Maimonides Medical Center’s Department of Psyc ...
Patricia P. Capello, MA, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT is a Senior Dance/Movement Therapist and Acting Team Leader for the Therapeutic Activities Service at Maimonides Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry in Brooklyn, New York. While earning her BA in Psychology and Dance from CUNY Brooklyn College where she focused on Graham technique, Ms. Capello was co-owner of a community dance studio teaching a variety of dance forms to children and adults. Following her MA in Dance/Movement Therapy from New York University where she performed with the Judith Scott Dance Theatre, she went on to become a member of the adjunct faculty in the Department of Dance and Dance Education. Ms. Capello has served over 16 years on the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association and is Associate Chair of The International Panel.
In addition to training and supervising students both in the US and abroad, Ms. Capello maintains a private practice specializing in developmentally delayed adults. Her writing is featured in the recently published book The Art and Science of Dance/Movement Therapy: Life is Dance (Routledge; 2009) and as a regular contributor to The American Journal of Dance Therapy.
Tina Erfer, MS, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, National Certified Counselor and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. For over thirty-four years, she has worked as a ...
Tina Erfer, MS, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, National Certified Counselor and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. For over thirty-four years, she has worked as a dance/movement therapist in educational and psychiatric settings, with children and adolescents with special needs. She has served as Coordinator of the Hospital School Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She has given numerous lectures and workshops at various agencies and universities and has also provided many staff development and training sessions. Tina supervises and trains graduate students and entry-level dance/movement therapists. She has published on her dance/movement therapy work with children who have emotional challenges, and children with autism. Tina served for eight years on the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA); and is also past President of the New York and New Jersey Chapters of the ADTA. She is the Coordinator of the Alternate Route Dance/Movement Therapy Training Program at the Harkness Dance Center of 92nd Street Y in New York; as well as a faculty member in this program in New York City and in Montreal, Canada. She is also on the faculty of the Dance/Movement Therapy Training Program of the Inspirees Institute of Creative Arts Therapy, in China. Tina is the recipient of the American Dance Therapy Association 2015 Exceptional Service Award.
Dr. Amber Elizabeth Lynn Gray, PhD, BC-DMT, LPCC, MA & MPH, is the Executive Director of Restorative Resources LLC, The Kint Institute and her own planetary rights non-profit, Trauma Resources ...
Dr. Amber Elizabeth Lynn Gray, PhD, BC-DMT, LPCC, MA & MPH, is the Executive Director of Restorative Resources LLC, The Kint Institute and her own planetary rights non-profit, Trauma Resources International. She is an award winning dance movement therapist, a human rights psychotherapist, and an authorized Continuum teacher. Amber has worked for 24 years with people who have survived human rights abuses, war and torture. She originated Restorative Movement Psychotherapy, a framework for dance, movement, mindfulness and creative arts therapies with refugees and survivors of torture, and Polyvagal-informed Dance/Movement and Somatic Therapies for trauma, based on a deep immersion into Polyvagal Theory. Amber provides training and consultation nationally and internationally on restorative treatment for survivors of relational, social, collective and ancestral trauma. Her expertise is the integration of creative arts and body-based psychotherapy into “mainstream”, multi-cultural, clinical, psychotherapeutic and healing practices, often in low resource contexts. She is a regular conference presenter and keynote speaker, and has authored many peer-reviewed publications on movement therapies and trauma. She regularly leads eco-somatic, “wild-zeness” retreats for survivors of trauma.
Trauma and the Moving Body
Donna Newman-Bluestein, BC-DMT, CMA, LMHC, is a board certified dance/movement therapist, Certified Movement Analyst, licensed mental health counselor, Adjunct Faculty at Lesley University and ...
Donna Newman-Bluestein, BC-DMT, CMA, LMHC, is a board certified dance/movement therapist, Certified Movement Analyst, licensed mental health counselor, Adjunct Faculty at Lesley University and dancer with Back Pocket Dancers intergenerational company. Since receiving her M.Ed. in Expressive Therapies with a major in dance/movement therapy from Lesley University, Donna has worked with children with physical disabilities, adults in acute psychiatric distress and in medical rehabilitation, and with senior adults in long-term care and Assisted Living residences. As an educator, supervisor, trainer and speaker, Donna’s work has focused entirely for the past 15 years on transforming the culture of care for people with dementia through dance and embodied caregiving. To motivate people with advanced dementia to engage with others through movement, Donna invented the Octaband®. She has co-authored numerous articles and published a training manual, The Dance of Interaction: Nonverbal Communication Training for Caregivers of People with Dementia, An Embodied Approach.
All gifts to 92Y will be matched dollar for dollar!
Your donation will be automatically billed to your credit card each month. At the close of each year, you will receive a letter recording your 92Y gifts for tax purposes. You may change or cancel your payments at any time.
I would love to support you but cannot make a donation right now